After the San Diego shooting, American Muslims want to turn grief into action Issues of Islamophobia

Baltimore, United States – American Muslims are grieving after two gunmen opened fire last week at the Islamic Center in San Diego, killing three people.

But at the annual meeting of the Islamic Circle of North America (ICNA) in Baltimore, community leaders emphasized the need to turn grief into action.

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About 25,000 people came to the annual event which took place on Saturday and Sunday. Speakers talked about the shooting recently, pointing to the courage of three victims as an example to many people in the time of fear of Islam.

Lena Masri, a lawyer for the Council of American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), said: “We owe them more than comfort.

He described how the victims – a security guard, caretaker and neighbor – gave their lives to save others. The security chief, Amin Abdullah, exchanged fire with the attackers, while two others, Mansour Kaziha and Nadir Awad, rushed to help and called for emergency help.

“They defended physical space of our community: the mosque (mosque), the school, the children, the teachers, the worshippers,” said Masri.

“Our responsibility is to protect our community: freedom of worship, freedom of speech, freedom of organization, freedom to defend Palestine, freedom of association.”

This was a recurring theme of the conference: that the American Muslim community cannot remain silent and must mobilize its power to push back against racism and hatred.

Speakers emphasized voting, organizing and donating to community organizations and those working with Muslim Americans. They also emphasized the need to hold the authorities accountable and force an end to Israeli violence in Palestine.

“We owe Gaza more than grief. We owe Gaza encouragement they cannot be afraid to be quiet,” said Masri.

Islamophobia and denigration of the Palestinian people

Palestinian symbols were seen everywhere at the rally, from bags made of watermelons and flags to keffiyeh skirts, shirts and water bottles.

At a market with many vendors, conference-goers left messages of solidarity on a tent that will be sent to Gaza by the charity Life for Relief and Development (MOYO).

In speeches and in groups, advocates have shown the connection between violence against Muslims in the United States and Israeli violence in Gaza, the occupied West Bank. Lebanon.

Some of the loudest proponents of Islamophobia in the US are also pro-Israel, among them right-wing commentator Laura Loomer and Congressman. Randy Fine.

Both Loomer and Fine are allies of US President Donald Trump, whose administration has caused chaos to chase opponents of Israel who live in the US but are not citizens.

Altaf Husain, a professor at the Howard University School of Social Work, said that anti-Palestinian rhetoric is an attempt to “intimidate” Muslims as a way to end opposition to Israel.

“They want to shut this down, so direct contact,” Husain told Al Jazeera.

He said the large number of people who attended the ICNA meeting shows that the community is not afraid and will not back down.

In response to the shooting in San Diego, Husain said that the community raised more than $3.5m for the families of the victims and moved to strengthen security around Islamic institutions.

Security units

Saad Kazmi, president of ICNA, said the organization is relying on three levels of security to protect this weekend’s events: its own bodyguards, an outside company and law enforcement agencies in Baltimore.

Despite local concerns over the rise of Islam and Trump’s immigration crackdown, he said American Muslims need to take matters into their own hands and work with “smart” people in politics to end hate.

“We are very grateful that we live in a country ruled by the Constitution and laws,” Mr Kazmi told Al Jazeera.

Kazmi added that the shooting in San Diego only increased people’s determination to assert and protect their rights. The city’s Islamic center, he said, did not close after the attack.

“If anything has come out, it is that there are many people who go to mosques, many people who believe that the way forward is to strengthen ourselves, to strengthen our community and to march,” Kazmi said.

After the shooting, Loomer repeated his anti-Muslim rhetoric, calling on immigration officials to search the Islamic Center of San Diego.

He also called for all Muslims to be deported from the US, describing them as “destructive animals”. But a minority of Republicans rejected Loomer, who maintains close ties to the White House.

In fact, more than 60 members of Congress have joined the Sharia-Free America Caucus since its launch in December. CAIR has designated this organization a hate group.

In the states, governors and local councilors vilified Islam as they pressed to punish Palestinian rights activists.

Texas and Florida, for example, will called CAIR a “terrorist” group, while working against “Sharia law” which critics see as an anti-Muslim dog whistle.

Freedom is being challenged

In March, CAIR sued Florida Governor Ron DeSantis for his “criminal” conduct. namethe trial court blocked the trademark from being issued.

In his ruling, Judge Mark Walker wrote that DeSantis’ Executive Order (EO) targets all Muslims.

“It should not be lost on anyone that the Defendant’s EO is targeting one of America’s largest Muslim rights organizations for direct suppression of speech. But, as we all know, it’s easy for those in power to target small groups with little to no problems,” Walker wrote.

“Unfortunately, history teaches that it is often the smaller religious groups that are at the center of conflict.”

On Saturday, several groups praised the United States constitution and laws protecting freedom of religion and speech. But the officials of the organization said that human rights do not protect themselves; people must do something to protect them.

Tom Facchine, who is an imam from New Jersey, said: “You have to think that freedom is a territory, and you have to live in that territory.”

Last year, an immigrant from Palestine See Kordia he found his freedom in jeopardy when immigration officials knocked on his door and locked him up for fighting Israel’s war in Gaza.

Kordia spent more than a year in Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) custody before an immigration judge ordered his release in March.

But Kordia – who is still fighting the deportation – told those who attended the ICNA conference on Saturday that he has no regrets, urging them to remain political and active.

“Talking, comes with a price… It cost me my health, my life, actually my freedomand I am not sure if I will be here tomorrow, or if I will be deported,” he said.

It comes with a price, but it’s worth it. It is necessary because silence costs more than speaking.